Dinner With The Brewsters
by Marymel
Summary: Jim thinks he's going to spend Christmas alone, but Tina and Eli have other ideas.


**Jackson and Greta are my original characters, but I don't own CSI.**

 **My Christmas present to you! Two new stories! Happy Holidays and hope you have a wonderful new year!**

 **I probably should've written this last year, since that's when I wrote about Eli and Jim's shared puppy, Spot. But I thought of it after Christmas. Still, I thought it would make a cool story. Since I've written that Brass helps take care of Eli while Tina's working, I thought it would be cool for them to have a holiday dinner with Tina and Eli's family. Here's what I came up with. Hope you enjoy...and pretty please review!**

The holidays were always a sad time for Jim Brass. He was always closer to the cops and CSIs he worked with than he was to his family...he considered them to be his real family. But he didn't like to interfere with their own holiday get-togethers, especially if they had their own kids. So he was most always found at the department, picking up cases for those who wanted to be home with their own families or catching up on some paperwork.

That all changed when Jim began taking care of Eli Brown. Jim saw so much of his late friend Warrick in the CSI's son. And Eli couldn't spend enough time with Jim and all of his father's CSI family.

On Christmas Day, Tina surprised Jim with a visit from her and Eli. Jim smiled as he greeted the two and their Dalmatian dog Spot...who promptly greeted Jim by jumping up and kissing his face.

"Spot, get down!" Eli said gently.

Jim laughed softly. "He's fine." The dog got down and got a head rub from the detective. "So...what's up?"

Eli smiled at his father's dear friend. "We want you to have Christmas dinner with us!"

A soft smile crossed Jim's face. "You do?"

"Yes!" Eli said. "My grandma and Aunt Rose made turkey and everything! And Aunt Lillian made her sweet potato pie!"

Tina smiled warmly at her son. "We really want you to come, if you don't have any plans."

As much as Jim wanted to be alone this time of year, he liked the idea of being part of a family. And he loved Eli like a son. Helping raise Warrick's son gave him another chance to have a family.

"Come on, Uncle Jim," Eli said. "I really want you to come."

How could Jim argue with that? He smiled softly at the young boy who looked so much like his father. "Well...I didn't get them anything..."

"That's okay!" Eli quickly said.

"Yeah," Tina added. "We always make so much food."

Jim smiled. "Can we bring Spot?"

Eli laughed. "Yeah!"

Jim dressed, got the presents he'd wrapped for Tina and Eli, and rode with them and Spot to Tina's parents. Eli happily chatted away in the backseat about Christmas and playing with Jackson and Joshua. Listening to the Christmas songs on the radio, Jim had to smile at the thought of spending Christmas with the two of them and Tina's family.

As soon as they pulled in the driveway of Tina's parents, her father John came out and greeted them. He smiled widely when he saw Jim. "Well, hi!"

Jim chuckled. "Hi, Doctor Brewster."

Eli got out of the car but before he could hug his grandfather, Spot jumped up and gave him kisses. John laughed. "Merry Christmas to you, too."

"Spot..." Jim groaned as he gently pulled the dog away.

"Oh, it's all right," John assured him. He hugged his daughter and grandson and took the pecan pie Tina had made.

The group walked into the house and greetings of "hello" and "Merry Christmas" were said. Tina's mother Patti greeted Jim with a big hug. "Well, look who's here," she said with a smile.

Jim smiled at the kind woman. "Hope I'm not intruding..."

"Oh, you're fine!" Patti said with a warm smile. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Tina smiled at her mother with her dear friend. "Me too."

Jim smiled a bit nervously. "Well, I didn't know I'd be here. But I brought gifts for Tina and Eli."

"Oh, it's fine," Patti assured him. "I'm just glad you could come."

A small smile came to Jim as Eli pulled him into the den to show his grandfather a trick he taught Spot. "Just keep that dog away from the kitchen!" Patti shouted as she went back to the family dinner. "The turkey's almost ready!"

Jim followed Tina into the living room and smiled when he saw the woman hug her Aunt Rose. The woman smiled when she saw the detective. "If I'd known you'd bring me a handsome man for Christmas, I would have put on some lipstick!"

Jim blushed but laughed with the 90-year-old. "Well, I didn't know I'd be having dinner with a beautiful lady."

Rose laughed softly. Tina smiled at the two. "Aunt Rose, you remember Jim, don't you?"

"Last time I saw you was Eli's birthday party," Rose said as she shook Jim's hand.

"Yeah," Jim said with a warm smile.

The three turned when they heard Tina's mom Patti shout from the kitchen, "You keep that dog out of the kitchen! He'll have plenty to eat, just like all of us!"

Eli came in with Spot, who was entranced by the smells coming from his grandparent's kitchen. Tina raised an eyebrow at her son and his dog. "He didn't try to steal the turkey, did he?"

"No!" Eli insisted. "But he did take a roll."

Rose laughed as Jim led Eli and the dog to the seat next to her. "Come here, Spot," he said as the dog sat at his feet. "Did I hear Mrs. Patti say she's going to have some food for you?"

"Uncle Jim, you should've seen him last year," Eli said as he pet the Dalmatian. "He almost stole the whole pumpkin pie!"

"But we saved him a piece," John said with a warm smile.

Tina smiled as she watched her son with the detective. With everything she'd been through after Warrick's death, she loved that his CSI family welcomed her and Eli with open arms. And Jim was a wonderful father figure to Eli.

"Everything's almost ready!" Patti called from the kitchen.

Tina stood. "Need some help?" she asked as she walked to the kitchen.

John sat down next to Jim as Eli happily played with Spot and told his Aunt Rose about playing with his friends and how school was going. He offered Jim a cup of coffee. "Jim...I'm really glad you could come."

The detective raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."

"I mean it," Jim insisted. "You've helped Eli and Tina so much these last few years."

Jim smiled as Eli laughed and played. "He's helped me," Jim said thoughtfully.

John nodded. The few times he'd met Warrick, the CSI had told him about Jim's problematic relationship with his daughter. And he'd followed Ellie's case in the news.

"So..." John tentatively asked. "How have you been?"

Jim sighed. "Good. Getting back to work has been good."

"That's good," John said. Jim nodded and sipped his coffee.

"Uncle Jim took Jackson and me to the park!" Eli said. "Jackson says he's going to get his kite in the air this time!"

"Like Charlie Brown?" John asked. Eli giggled as he and his aunt rubbed Spot's belly.

John smiled as Jim relaxed and enjoyed the time with Eli and his family. "Jim...I am glad you came."

Jim turned and raised an eyebrow. "O...kay."

"I mean it," John continued. "I know...Warrick and Tina have told me about your daughter."

"Oh..." Jim said with a sigh. "It's been a long road."

John sighed softly and cleared his throat. "Jim...I know you've had a difficult relationship with your daughter. But..." he and Jim both smiled as Tina and Patti carried dishes to the dining room table, chatting and laughing. John turned to Jim. "You brought my daughter back."

Jim turned and smiled at Tina's father. "She and Eli have saved me, more than the other way around."

John nodded. "I know. You've saved each other. And Eli..." both smiled at the young man eyeing the food and trying to keep Spot from jumping on the chairs at the table.

"He's been the best medicine for all of us," Jim said honestly.

"You know," John began. "After Warrick died, Tina was lost. She didn't know...I guess maybe she thought if she cut everyone off, it wouldn't hurt as much. But you, Nick, Greg, Sara, everyone...you brought her back. Especially you."

Jim chuckled sadly. "We both needed each other."

John nodded. "I am sorry about your daughter."

A sad sigh escaped Jim as he watched Eli play with Spot. "So am I. I did everything I could, and..."

John smiled as his wife and daughter laughed. He knew Jim would always love his daughter, even if Ellie did everything in her power to hurt him. John sighed and looked at Jim. "What happened to your daughter was not your fault. I know you must hear that so much."

"Ah," Jim sighed. "I think she's finally realized she hurt herself more than she ever hurt her mom and me. She's serving a life sentence." He chuckled sadly. "It took that to get us to talk."

John nodded. "Well..." both men smiled as Tina looked in and smiled. "You may have lost your daughter..." John said. "But you saved mine."

Jim sighed deeply and smiled softly at John. "I think we saved each other."

"All right," Patti said. "Come to the table!"

"Yeah!" Eli said as he stood up. "Come on, Uncle Jim!"

Jim smiled at the young man who looked so much like his father. Jim offered Rose his arm. "May I?"

"You may," Rose said with a smile. "I can't remember when I had such a handsome man escort me to dinner." That brought a smile to the detective.

"John, would you like to say the blessing?" Patti asked.

"Uh...may I say something?" Jim said. Tina and Patti nodded. "Jim sighed softly. "I thought I was going to spend this Christmas alone...nothing new there. But today..." he smiled at Eli. "I was reminded that I'm part of a family."

Tina smiled and hugged Jim. "Yes, you are. And we're glad you're part of our family."

"Me too!" Eli said.

Jim fought back tears as he smiled at the family who welcomed him in. "Well...thank you all."

"Thank you," Tina's parents and aunt said.

"Now you do have a family," Tina said.

Jim sighed and wiped a tear that escaped his eye. "Well...thank you all."

John said the blessing and everyone sat down to eat. Jim fell into an easy camaraderie with everyone, talking about favorite movies, spending time with Jackson and their CSI family, and just enjoying the holiday.

After they finished dinner, everyone gathered around the tree to open their gifts. Jim gave Eli a new football and gave Tina a gift card to a restaurant she loved. Tina and Eli gave Jim a new pair of gloves and scarf.

Tina's parents surprised Jim with a gift card to a local diner they knew he liked. And Spot loved getting toys and treats from his family.

As the night winded down, Jim found himself sorry to leave. He'd never really had a traditional family, and being welcomed into Tina and Eli's really warmed his heart.

"Now, we've got to do this again next year," Patti said as she hugged Jim.

"I'm looking forward to it," Jim said honestly.

Tina and Eli smiled at the detective with their family. "Now you have a family to spend Christmas with," Tina said as they got in the car.

Jim smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah. I do."

 **The End**


End file.
